Bike shop kiosks to help streamline sizing (and buying) process

Look for this ATM-looking device to start showing up at bike shops in late April (click to enlarge).

Not everyone likes interacting with sales people — even at bike shops. At least that’s part of the thinking behind Specialized’s new Rider Sizing Station, a kiosk device that provides prospective bike buyers their frame size and approximate saddle height.

The touchscreen device, which bears some resemblance to an ATM, uses digital cameras to recognize when someone is standing in front of it. That recognition starts a process that begins with the prospective bike buyer answering a few key questions via the touchscreen. Once gender, riding style, and a preference for mountain or road is entered into the system, the Rider Sizing Station determines and displays proper frame size and approximate saddle height.

Once it’s taken its measurements, the kiosk will display your ideal frame size and approximate saddle height (click to enlarge).

More importantly it shows all the Specialized bikes that match your answers in terms of riding style and what’s available in that particular market. The customer can then pick bike models that interest them and have that list saved and emailed to them. From there you can begin a more educated dialog with a shop employee.

“Besides the sizing information, it allows consumers to tell us what they want, which will helps us and the retailers make future inventory decisions,” explained Scott Holtz, Specialized brand manager for Body Geometry Fit. “We think that for a lot of people this will be the best place to start the sizing and buying process.”

Holtz also points out that sizing is a lot different than fitting.

Using the Retul fitting methodology and this fit bike, you can track 38 pieces of motions on a rider via flashing LEDs. This includes knee angle, knee tracking, wrist angle and much more (click to enlarge).

“The goal with this is to get people on the right size frame, stem, etc,” he said. “Fitting, which we also do through our Body Geometry Fit program, is where the bike truly gets personalized to you. That typically takes a few hours, and includes a physical assessment and analysis of your pedaling on the bike using the Retul fitting methodology, which is essentially an advanced way of taking measurements.”

Along with sizing information, the kiosk displays all the bike models that match your search criteria and are available in your market (click to enlarge).

Around 250 of the sizing kiosks will begin showing up in bike shops around the world at the end of April. WiFi functionality allows them to stay up to date with the current Specialized catalog, pulling information directly from the website in that market. The kiosks are set up in multiple languages, including English, French, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian and Czech. Cost to the retailer is $3000 to have one of these machines installed in their store.

An avid cyclist, Jason Sumner has been writing about two-wheeled pursuits of all kinds since 1999. He’s covered the Tour de France, the Olympic Games, and dozens of other international cycling events. He also likes to throw himself into the fray, penning first-person accounts of cycling adventures all over the globe. Sumner, who joined the RoadBikeReview.com / Mtbr.com staff in 2013, has also done extensive gear testing and is the author of the cycling guide book "75 Classic Rides: Colorado." When not writing or riding, the native Coloradoan can be found enjoying time with his wife Lisa and daughter Cora.

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